After 2 weeks of hard work, the 50 participants deserve to experience something few ever will. Their film will premiere at the San Diego Film Festival, helping to shatter the misperceptions about the capacities of those with autism. This microproject will fund the cost to edit the final film to be premiered at the film festival.
All children have passions, and too often children with ASD, because of the isolation created by their disability, may not have an outlet to share their passions with others, much less work collaboratively to breathe life into them. Individuals with autism are often marginalized, and may only need some additional instruction, or a different structure to achieve these goals. This marginalization can result in missed opportunities including skills training that will prove useful in later life.
Participants will leave with a film credit, professional experience, and will have learned skills that will carry with them into professional, social, and academic environments. They will also experience something few ever will: they will walk a red carpet at the San Diego Film Festival, and watch a film they created, in a theater full of paying patrons, who ultimately will applaud their efforts. We hope this experience will increase self-confidence in pursuing their passion for filmmaking.
Creating a film is a monumental effort for any group, but for those with ASD, vital skills must be mastered, including cooperation, negotiation, listening, and taking direction. They will be introduced to animation, set design, script-writing, acting, prop/set building, wardrobe, make-up and budgeting. They will learn the marketable skills of filmmaking and leave with a film credit and an addition to their resume. For many, this will be their first experience of job training.
